Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Season of Changing Pace

As 2011 heads to the finish line, November has brought a change of pace for me. The fast track for the last few months has left me searching for that quiet corner, a place to retreat, collect my thoughts and reflect on what lies ahead for the new year.

October was so busy with each weekend crammed with activities and events, but as November opened the door on the last of the beautiful fall colors before the cold breath of winter comes blowing in, the weekends once again became mine.
                                                    
From the first one, celebrating my birthday with breakfast at Ace Diner
with nothing planned and feeling a little numb from the decelerated pace................











 .......to the second one touring the Rail Road/Civil War Museum in down town Dickson and lunch with my hubby once again at our favorite little eatery nearby (Ace Diner) .








The Museum holds so much history of the county we decided to make our home over 16 years ago. We never knew how much the Civil War had affected the lives of the residents and how the railroad brought so much industry into the area.....thank God for the time to slow down and connect with the community we have come to love.






Today was number three in a row.....4 girl-friends and I spent a Slow Sigh Saturday morning in nearby Waverly, TN in a wonderful, not so little, gift shop where we were in awe of the treasures inside. The ordinary looking gray building on the side of highway 70 did not give a hint as to what we would find inside. As we browsed the nooks and crannies of the unique gift emporium, thoughts of what would put a smile on the faces of our loved ones on Christmas morning danced in our heads and tugged at our hearts. Emerging from the building after almost 2 hours, we loaded our finds and headed further into town to check out a local Cafe for a light lunch.



The Waverly Cafe was just the spot to sit and talk and enjoy a delicious meal of Homemade Chili and a Provolone/Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese with a touch Italian. As we entered the Cafe the aroma of fresh brewed coffee welcomed us at the door, beckoning us to come in and have a cup......and what a cup it was.....bigger than the soup bowls, but just the size to wrap two hands around and sip as we chatted without a thought to the clock.








Leaving the sweet retreat of the Cafe, where not only did we enjoy the food and fellowship, we were also treated to a little bit of local history displayed on the walls through pictures from the past, we made a stop at a local bakery to take a few sweet treats home with us.

Thanksgiving Day will lead into the final weekend of November. I am so thankful for this beautiful time of the year, for the brilliant colors, the warm days and cool nights, a time when we can slow down and let our thoughts turn to family. The days ahead will take on a bit of magic as we enter the Christmas season and our thoughts will include our Blessed Savior and the celebration of His birth.





The new year will bring changes and adjustments, but I will put my trust in the Lord to guide and protect my family as we follow His plan for us in 2012.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Hillsboro High Family Reunion

October 29, 2011..... almost 40 years after Hillsboro High School  in rural Williamson County Tennessee closed its doors on the last graduating class, the former students came together again!

What a reunion it was, with students from graduating classes as far back as the early 40's to the last graduating class in 1977......

As a Hillsboro High student for 4 years and a graduate of the class of 1973, I had the privilege of being in the "Hillsboro Family" of classes a few years before and a few years after my graduation. Hillsboro School was a small school in which the classrooms were filled with families, students who were more like  brothers and sisters and had known each other since kindergarten or 1st grade. As we came together to share in this reunion and reconnect with lost friendships of years before, it was difficult to remember exactly who graduated with who.......we were reunited as one family.

"Reunion" seems so inadequate in describing the day, the coming together of a family who had not seen each other in decades. The hugs, the smiles, the joy in recognizing that long ago friend....there are no words that fit!
 
Of course, everyone could not be there and it was evident that the ones missing left an emptiness as we gathered around the memorial table to remember and watch the familiar faces of friends who left us much too early.

As with any family reunion, it would not be complete without the food and food was abundant!!!






         Long ago teachers and the beloved principal came together to make the family reunion complete!
This day will live forever in our memories, friendships that were reconnected will flourish for years to come. This day was a long time coming, something we were holding our breath for, something we were hungry for ....... to bring us back to where we were one family.......yes it was *Epic!

*Thank you Donna Goodgine Schklar for the perfect word to describe our day.
Thank you Debbie Raines Flowers for starting the ball rolling!!!!

Turning the Page

How did it get to be November? Weren't we just welcoming in 2011 a few weeks ago? "Time waits for no man"; I read that somewhere and finally, I know what it means......

Today, the first Saturday of November 2011, has been a breathtaking day! One of those "Slow, Sigh Saturday's" that I dream about and only catch once in a while. This week has been one of those "stop the world and let me off" weeks, but if I can have a day like today waiting at the end of every week.....then bring it on! The reward is worth it!

As we approach the end of yet another year and I think back over the last 10 months, once again I count my blessings.....the blessings of a year of good health for me and my family, the news of an addition to our family, a precious grandson coming from the other side of the world, the birth of  a beautiful grandson right here at home, a grand son starting school for the first time, the joining of the military ranks of yet another grandson, five beautiful granddaughters all as teenagers, the high school graduation of a son and a grand daughter and watching them both go on to college, experiencing the empty nest for the first time in almost 40 years of raising children and having a first time ever High School Reunion in almost as many years ......

What will the next year bring?   I will start with an earlier posting in September 2010 titled "Down On the Farm".........

Early in 2004, we got restless to make a change in our lives.... as the kids grew, so did the need to find out what else was out there. Our daughter was graduating and our son was getting ready for middle school and work was becoming more stressful for me, so I knew the time had come.......


At the time of that posting in 2010, I went on to say, "Our daughter has married, our son is getting ready to graduate in the spring and that wander dust is starting to swirl......where will it take us? Only as we turn the page in our book of life will we find what God has in store for us..."

A year has come and gone, the pages have turned and a new chapter is being written.......

Fall 2011, My husband is preparing to return to Military Service, this time as a civilian in the faraway land of Kyrgyzstan. 

What does this mean for me? An empty nest? An empty house? Well, that wander dust has not settled yet......... 

Jeremiah 29:11  "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Update 4 months later: My husband's contract fell through..... was not in God's plan.....instead, He needed him to stay home and help our son get ready for Military Service.........